Conclusion...this was one of my all time best tasting pies. While the crust texture may not appeal to some, the taste was phenomenal. Not to mention the new sauce recipe and cheese blend. I will be trying this again sometime with a couple of mods.

Those dough balls look very interesting to me Vesuvi0 and I will tell you why after your bake. Did you use very warm water?Thanks!

Bob

Pizza looks great Vesuvi0 ! Here's the deal on what I said about your dough being very interesting... your recipe using shortening and garlic powder is almost exactly the same I often use for Chicago thin style pizza and that cross section pic shows a really nicely made thin crust dough. The way you described cutting the "air" crust and the dense crumb you found...oh, and your sauce recipe too, almost a dead ringer for my Chi-town thins! Guess it just goes to show that one can really mix different styles together, cut them differently, bake them differently, etc. etc. and turn out something great. Well done Vesuvi0!!

Thanks for the nice comments! Had no idea I was stumbling into Chi-town land! Would definitely like to come back to this recipe with a thin crust deep dish...once I can find a nice authentic pan.

Granulated Garlic has always been a go to ingredient for me. I've read about it being a natural dough relaxer, which is really why I tried it in the first place...however the distinct aroma it has is why I continue to use it. I often host folks for dinner and its kind of grown in to a trademark I guess!